Emily Thornberry – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2016-01-26.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the total crew complement of HMS Ocean was on its most recent deployment; of what the Embarked Military Forces she carried consisted; and how many helicopters of which type she carried.

Penny Mordaunt

Ships’ complements are not fixed; they vary, even across a class, depending on equipment fits and in response to specific tasking.

HMS OCEAN has a complement of 380 when in her normal operating role; however, this would have varied during her deployment on COUGAR 15 as personnel embarked and disembarked dependent on the activity. The Embarked Military Force (Royal Marines and Aviation Group personnel) was in the region of 620.

Similarly, the number and type of helicopters embarked varied depending on the activity. At points during the deployment, HMS OCEAN carried the following helicopters: